About the Department

Vision Statement

The Department of German and Russian aspires to become a leading undergraduate foreign language program for language acquisition, cultural understanding, and international business relations.

Mission Statement

The Department aims to guide students to proficiency in the traditional four language acquisition skills (speaking, aural comprehension, reading, and writing) and to introduce them to the broad arena of culture, including literature, arts, history, and politics. Our strong proficiency-based teaching methods, in tandem with the exceptional opportunities for study abroad, enable our students to achieve a higher-than-average level of sophistication in all these areas.

An integral part of the mission of this department is to encourage as many majors, minors, and other interested students as possible to study abroad. We believe that studying abroad, in concert with their on-campus exposure to German and Russian studies, assists them in thinking more objectively about American culture and language from a distanced perspective and consequently enables them to examine their own attitudes and beliefs more objectively.

In addition, the university’s goal of preparing its students for their professional life is certainly enhanced by familiarity with, and close scrutiny of, foreign cultures, attitudes, languages, and economies in light of the contemporary emphasis on global understanding and interaction.